A Catholic Substack writer is raising concerns about in vitro fertilization (IVF), warning that the practice reflects a growing “doctor-God complex” in which human life is reduced to something engineered rather than a gift from God.
Reflecting on her own experience with infertility, Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead shared in a March 11 Substack post the moral and cultural implications of IVF as its use becomes increasingly widespread.
“Our doctor,” Snead wrote, “and all of those in the big-money business of IVF have crowned themselves the new creators of life, believing their own lie that the destruction of it is nothing to be worried about.”
In the post, Snead recalled an encounter with a physician who defended the practice, telling her and her husband, “I’m creating life back there, not destroying it!” — a moment she said prompted them to leave the clinic immediately.
Snead wrote that while the desire to have children is good, it must be pursued in a way that upholds the dignity of human life and respects the marital act as the proper, life-giving union of a man and a woman.
“All we wanted,” Snead wrote, “was health care that would facilitate the creation of new life within me, my husband and I co-creators with God.”
She also emphasized that many couples turn to IVF in response to infertility, but the approach does not seek to resolve the condition itself.
“These treatments,” she said, “separate the procreative from the unitive in the marital act and leave the underlying causes of infertility unknown and untreated.”
Snead also highlighted that the process of IVF often results in the creation of numerous unborn children, many of whom are never given the chance to live. She also pointed to companies such as Orchid that offer embryo-screening services allowing for the selection of certain traits, which she said raises further concerns about the treatment of human life.
“And what happens to these human beings if they are not implanted?” She wrote. “They’re either destroyed or permanently frozen or tampered with in God knows what ways. That’s a lot of things, but it’s not pro-life.”
Pointing to what she described as increasing political and cultural acceptance of IVF, Snead said that even leaders considered pro-life have begun to support the practice, citing President Donald Trump’s Feb. 24 State of the Union address in which he emphasized plans to make IVF more affordable.
“Our current administration,” she said, “whom some have dubbed the most pro-life administration ever, has even joined the chorus.”
As Zeale News previously reported, several pro-life leaders, including CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt, have opposed Trump’s promotion of IVF, citing concerns over its impact on human dignity and the destruction of innocent life.